Once Upon All Hallows' Eve
by Meum Cerebrum Nocet
Summary: Once upon All Hallows' Eve, in the mysterious Shrieking Shack, two people who previously hated each other are set on a different track. [Scorose]
1. Chapter 1: The Tale is Told

_**Summary: **__Once upon All Hallows' Eve, in the mysterious Shrieking Shack, two people who previously hated each other are set on a different track._

_**A/N:**__ It's the end of October! The weather has turned cold (at least where I am), school has started to pick up, and I have started a short little story in celebration of Halloween. I hope you like it!_

_**Disclaimer: **__J.K. Rowling is the genius behind this amazing world. I am simply momentarily occupying it._

* * *

**Once Upon All Hallows' Eve**

**Chapter One**

**The Tale is Told**

* * *

Rose wasn't sure how she'd been talked into this. She never did anything like this. She never broke the rules, never broke curfew and _never _did something simply because someone dared her to. Yet here she was, sneaking across the grounds towards the Weeping Willow on All Hallow's Eve.

She blamed Carly for this.

It had never been her idea to sneak up to the astronomy tower with some other sixth-years the Friday before Halloween to tell ghost stories and drink. Rose had not wanted to go initially, but Carly was much too insistent; it had started to really get to Rose and she finally gave in to her annoyingly brown-haired friend.

Her current situation was a direct result of the annoying, undeniable persistence of Caroline Meyers.

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this! Carly this is all your fault," the dark haired Ella Rosemont whisper-shouted at the brunette ascending the astronomy tower stairs. Rose couldn't help but disagree. The trio's evenings usually consisted of sitting in the library and studying or working on assignments. Carly was continuously trying to convince her two bookworm friends to do something social. She wanted them to go to school parties, go to Quidditch after parties, or sneak out to various activities around the school grounds. Ella and Rose were usually able to rebuff Carly's attempts but this time she had been so unrelenting that she worn them down.

"Shut up Ella! This is going to be fun! You two are going to enjoy yourselves! I do not want to hear another complaint from either of you or I will steal you day planners and hid them, so help me Merlin!" Carly seethed, her anger totally fake. Rose rolled her eyes, but followed her crazy friends anyway.

When the trio arrived, the party was already in full swing. There was a fire blazing in the middle of the room with a large group of people situated around it, laughing and enjoying each other's company. In the corner stood a large barrel of some sort of mead that, judging by the behavior of the assembled, was most likely almost empty. A small, enchanted music box played the latest hit lightly in the background.

Rose maneuvered through the crowd and took a seat in front of the fire. All she wanted was to leave this silly party, return to her room, and finish her latest book. She had only promised Carly two hours; that was all she had to suffer through. It had better pass extremely quickly, or Carly would hear about it, day planner be damned.

"Drink this," a deep voice suddenly spoke behind her as the person shoved a red cup in front of her face. She turned to look at who had the audacity to force alcohol down her throat. Her brown eyes met the familiar blue of her favourite cousin and she smiled.

"Trying to get me drunk so I'll forget about this evening and not be able to tell your parents, Al?" Rose jokingly questioned, taking the drink he offered.

"You know me too well, Rosie. Now drink up!" Albus Potter responded, calling her by her hated childhood nickname.

"Yeah, Rosie, you've got some catching up to do," the snide, haughty voice of Al's best friend Scorpius Malfoy chimed in, squeezing himself between Rose and Albus. Rose nearly strangled him at his 'Rosie' comment, but was stopped by the arrival of Ella and Carly. Rose turned her head away from her cousin's vile friend and focused on her own friends. It was a difficult feat because Scorpius kept tapping his knee against hers.

Rose's distaste of the blond went back to their first train rise when he had tripped her, by accident he claimed, made fun of her favourite book, and then spent several hours staring at her to annoy her. It was then amplified by the fact that they both began competing for the top of the class. From this rivalry spawned a barrage of thinly veiled insults, taunts, and challenges that continued to escalate.

Now, Rose could barely stand to be in the same room as Scorpius without feeling the overwhelming urge to fling a string of creative insults at him. Having him at this party made it ten times harder to enjoy herself.

* * *

Half an hour after Rose had arrived atop the astronomy tower, her cousin Albus suddenly stood up. The motion, combined with the alcohol he had consumed, caused him to wobble a little at first. All eyes instantly gravitated towards the dark haired, blue-eyed male.

"Every year, on the Friday before Halloween, students gather atop the astronomy tower as we have done, and relay the ghoulish tales of this school. And, as part of this tradition, the first tale told is the one behind the Shrieking Shack, which is where I will begin the evening." Rose was surprised by the clarity of Al's speech. "It all started 50 years ago, on a night much like this…

* * *

_Two sixth-years scurried across the front lawn of the Hogwarts grounds under the cover of darkness. They were headed towards a lone building off in the distance. It was a grand building, three stories tall with lavish balconies and a manicured lawn. However, the rumors racing through the halls of Hogwarts was that the extravagant exterior was a façade for a macabre house or horrors. _

_According to the rumors, the owner of the house was an old madman who did strange, magical experiments, some even involving humans. He experimented with dark magic, forbidden curses and even necromancy._

_The two sixth-years had been instantly intrigued by what they had heard, and wanted to know if it was the truth. They began researching some of the claims in the library, but ultimately decided that observation would be the only option for definitive answers. _

_They made their plan to attempt a visit on Halloween, the next Friday, and began packing and prepping. They reviewed simple defensive spells and even learned some more advanced magic. They packed various magical amulets and protectionary objects as a precaution. Then they waited for midnight on Halloween and headed off._

* * *

"When does this get scary?" a voice in the crowd shouted. Others sharing the same opinion quickly joined it. Al shot them all death glares.

"Proper scary stories always begin with unscary, run-of-the-mill, expositional information to give you a solid foundation and lull you into a false sense of security. By starting it like this, you start to think you can handle the story, that it won't be too scary. Then you're even more scared when the story really gets going," Al explained simply, "Now shut up and let me finish my story."

* * *

_The two sixth-years reached the elegant gate without much issue. They didn't run into any teachers or guards as they crossed the large expanse of the Hogwarts grounds. Now, the final hurdle between them and the truth of the legend was a small gate._

_It was a simply gate, with a latch holding it in place. It didn't appear that there were wards around it, but they still paused for a moment. One did a quick detection spell and, when it came back negative, they unlatched the gate and proceeded towards the large, ornate house._

_The lawn that stretched out before then looked chilling and ominous as a late night fog rolled across the area. The various statuaries and trees took on a foreboding appearance in the misty evening. Shapes blurred and morphed into terrifying images._

_Now, while these two boys had a fair amount of bravery between them, this eerie environment sent the two bolting up the lawn towards the equally creepy house. They approached a first-floor window, and peered into the lit room._

_As they looked through the glass, something taped the two on the shoulders._

* * *

As Al spoke about the mysterious tapping, a thunderclap sounded throughout the astronomy tower, causing some of the assembled to jump in fear and surprise. Al chuckled quietly at them, then reset his face into the serious, slightly creepy, face he had while telling the story and continued.

* * *

_The two jumped and quickly whipped around, coming face to face with a wrinkled face, filled with freckles and age spots._

"_What are you two up to?" he asked, his voice quiet and gravelly with age. The two froze, unsure of how to explain their presence, "why don't you two come inside? It is awfully cool out tonight. Come along then."_

_Jumping at the opportunity to avoid answering the difficult question, the two boys followed the old man into the house. They had never planned to enter the house, simply observe through the windows. However, now that they were inside, they decided it would be much easier to find their answers._

_They followed the old man past many closed doors and creepy pictures and portraits into an elegant, if slightly dusty, sitting room. They took a seat on a faded plush sofa as the old man shuffled away muttering about tea._

_A look passed between the two; this would most likely be their only opportunity to explore the supposed house of horrors. They took a quiet look down the hallway that the old man had left through. Seeing nothing, the two quickly stood and left the way they'd arrived._

_The entry way was an elegant, two story expanse with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Doors lined the walls, just asking to be explored. The boys tried several of them before finally finding an unlocked one._

_It led to a dark staircase down into the dark abyss. One of the boys performed a lumos charms and the two proceeded down the blackened staircase following the dim glow of wandlight._

* * *

"Don't they know you never walk into a dark hallway or stairwell? That's just asking for trouble," Scorpius whispered in Rose's ear. A shiver ran up her spine, in revulsion she was sure. She turned to the annoying blonde, gave him a withering stare and returned to Al and the story.

* * *

_The stairs creaked and groaned with each step the two took. Finally, after five minutes of climbing down through the darkness, their feet hit solid ground. The boy with the wand pointed it from their feet and out towards the room. A cool, ominous breeze blew through the room and the two shivered. Something about the room felt off._

_They took several hesitant steps forward, stopping when they came to a large wooden table. The wand was lowered towards the table so they could see the objects that littered its surface. Nearly the entire table was covered with strange rusted implements. Saw, axes, and various other tools used in the act of torture lay in disrepair. The boy with the wand reached for a strange looking sword. He was suddenly stopped as his friend clasped onto his arm._

"_I think it'll be best if we don't touch anything." The other boy nodded and they continued on throughout the room, looking at the objects that littered the large tables that filled the room. _

_At the very last table, the two found an object covered in a sheet. It was fairly large, if it was in fact one object, taking up almost the entirety of the table. The boy with the wand knew he shouldn't have tried to touch it, but his hand felt as if it had a mind of his own. He began reaching for the sheet and grabbed onto it before his friend could stop him._

_In one fluid motion, he pulled the sheet off and nearly fainted at the sight that was revealed._

* * *

Albus paused for dramatic effect.

* * *

_Lying on the table was a dismembered human body._

* * *

Rose, having heard this story many times from her cousin Fred, observed the assembled crowd. Most people were enthralled by Albus' words; they now sat transfixed around the fire, anxiously awaiting the end of the story. Rose smirked at their expressions.

* * *

_The two boys who entered the Shrieking Shack that night were never heard from again._

* * *

Albus finished his tale with a bow and then sat back down. Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd as the tale was eagerly discussed. Rose turned to her friends to get their reaction to the story.

"That's not true!" a voice exclaimed over the murmurs, emanating from right beside her. Of course he would be the one to call out the sincerity of Al's story. Rose also knew the tale wasn't true, but she would never come out and say that.

"Is that so?" Albus asked, turning to his friend with a sinister, plotting look on his face, "so you'd have no problem spending a night alone in the Shrieking Shack?"

"Of course not," Scorpius stated simply, "it isn't haunted. Nothing would happen."

"I almost wish it was haunted," Rose muttered to Ella. Unfortunately, Albus had specially attuned hearing honed after years of pressing his ear to closed doors. From the other side of Scorpius, Al heard Rose's comment.

"You don't think it's haunted either, Rosie?" Albus asked.

Rose groaned, knowing where Al was going. However, she had no real option other than answering her annoying cousin. Albus would figure out a way to get what he wanted with or without her answer.

"No, Al, I don't think the Shrieking Shack is haunted.

"Excellent! Then you and Scorpius will have no issue spending Halloween night in the Shrieking Shack. Unless you're too scared."

And with that final comment, Albus sealed Rose's fate. She had no choice but to spend a night with just Scorpius. She was going to kill Carly.

* * *

_To be continued_

* * *

_**A/N: **__Okay, I suck at writing horror, so please don't expect this to scare you. I will try to make it somewhat suspenseful and maybe a tiny bit scary, but I make no promises. The main point of this story is romance, so that will be my focus._

_Review and let me know what you thought!_


	2. Chapter 2: The First Night Begins

_**A/N: **__Another day, another chapter._

_**Disclaimer: **__J.K. Rowling is the genius behind this amazing world. I am simply momentarily occupying it._

* * *

**Once Upon All Hallows' Eve**

**Chapter Two**

**The First Night Begins**

* * *

"Augh," Rose groaned, throwing yet another sweater onto her bed in frustration. Ella looked up from her book, a curious expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" she asked, true concern filling her voice.

"I have no idea what to pack! Is the Shack cold? Will I need a jumper? Which jumper should I bring? What pajamas should I wear? The one with the pattern? With a funny print? Why do I even care?" Rose let out an exasperated sigh and flung herself onto her clothing-covered bed.

"This is a Carly problem," Ella stated, putting down her book to go search for the dark haired girl. Just as she reached the door, it was flung open by none other than Carly herself.

"Just the girly-girl I was looking for."

"You require my extremely girly services?" Carly asked, surveying the dorm. Her eyes stopped once they landed on Rose's bed, the auburn haired girl sprawled across it.

"Major packing crisis," Ella stated, returning to her ben and the book she'd been reading. Carly walked over to Rose and shooed her off the bed.

"Move so I can see what I'm working with," Carly instructed. She then began digging through the clothes strewn across the bed. Quickly, piles began forming as Carly sorted the clothes. Once everything was in a pile, Carly began whizzing around the room, digging through trunks and dressers and pulling out various articles of clothing. She then added them to one of the piles. After five minutes, Carly took a step back to admire her work.

"Not to toot my own horn, but I do have to say this is some of my best work. Rose, you will look absolutely stunning for your evening alone with Scorpius!" Then, with a flick of her wand, Carly sent the large pile to Rose's bag and the others to her trunk.

"I was more worried about comfort than what I'd look like, Carly. I have no desire whatsoever to look good for Scorpius. He is foul, annoying, and not worth my time," Rose spoke with finality. Yet she made no move to undo Carly's packing. A smirk crossed the dark haired girl's face, which Rose chose to ignore. She wasn't unpacking Carly's clothes, because it would mean she would have to try and pack again. It had nothing to do with Scorpius.

Rose took a quick look at the clock hanging on the wall of the dormitory. She sighed.

"Well, it's time to be off. You lot coming to see me off?"

* * *

Rose, Ella, and Carly met Albus and Scorpius outside the Great Hall. Dinner had finished an hour ago, so the area was relatively empty. After exchanging greetings and other pleasantries, the small group set out across the grounds. Curfew was not for a few more hours, so they were not concerned with being spotted. Several other students also wandered the grounds, taking in the crisp fall air before it got too cold.

The small group headed towards the Whomping Willow. When her parents had attended Hogwarts, it had been a large tree that would take out anything or anyone that got too close. Now, the tree was slow with age, making it quite easy to slip through the branches without an immobilizing spell.

Upon reaching the gnarled roots, the fivesome halted. Albus turned to look at Rose and Scorpius.

"Tonight, you follow in the footsteps of two brave students who have come before you. Tonight, on this most sacred of magical holidays, when even the muggle world acknowledges our existence, the two of you will spend the night in one of the most haunted buildings in all of the UK. I have placed enchantments upon the Shack, so I will know if you leave at any time. Once the night is over, and you've survived it, you will be given the bragging rights for such a prestigious honor. Now, go forth brave souls and face your destiny!"

Rose rolled her eyes at her cousin. He'd always had a flair for the dramatic. She turned to her friends, bid them a quick goodbye, and then turned to Scorpius. She looked expectantly at him and motioned to a small hole in the tree roots. The well-known passageway led right underneath the Shrieking Shack.

"Ladies first," Scorpius spoke, obviously having deduced the meaning behind Rose's look. He motioned towards the hole.

"Oh no, age before beauty," Rose responding, copying Scorpius' motion.

"That still leaves you going first, Rosie," Scorpius spoke, winking at her. Rose's mouth fell open, flabbergasted at the implication in his statement. Had he just called her ugly? The nerve!

"Oh for the love of Merlin! Rosie, just go first. Scorpius will be right behind you. I'll make sure of it," Albus butted in, exasperated at the antics of the two. Rose let out an annoyed huff of air, but descended into the hole anyway.

It was a steep go, and Rose took each step carefully. She could sense Scorpius behind her, urging her forward. A few steps from the bottom, the slope dropped out. However, Rose, having never been down the passage, was unaware of this fact. She did not discover the drop-off's location until she put her foot out and encountered nothing but air.

Suddenly, Rose felt herself falling forward and reached out for anything to stop. She found nothing and had resigned herself to the pain, scrapes, and bruises that would result from her collision with ground out of nowhere, when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back onto solid ground.

"Mind your step. The ground drops out at the bottom," Scorpius whispered in her ear. The sensation of his hot breath on her ear sent shivers up her spine.

"A little sooner would have been nice," Rose responded, removing his arm from around her waist and continuing on down the dark, musty passage. Once they were on level ground and Rose no longer needed her arms for balance and support, she pulled out her wand and cast a lumos spell. The light from the wand did not penetrate the darkness very far, but it enabled Rose to see the first few feet in front of her. She would not be tripping on the ground, or lack thereof, again. A thud from behind her signaled Scorpius had landed on the more even ground.

The two continued on the rest of the way without any major issues or mishaps. At one point, Rose had spotted a few spiders crawling on the dirt wall, but she pushed down her fears and forged onwards. After walking for nearly half an hour, they reached a set of rickety stairs. Rose performed a quick repairing spell to ensure they would not crumble beneath her, and then confidently climbed them.

A trap door led them to what had once been a small, country kitchen. The small space was covered in cobwebs and several of the cabinet doors where either missing or barely hanging on. Judging by the shape of the kitchen, no one had provided the shack with some TLC in ages.

"There's a relatively nice bedroom upstairs," Scorpius spoke, coming up behind Rose, "we should set up camp there." He then moved passed her and into the house. Rose quickly followed, not wanting to get lost or left behind.

"You seem to have a fair amount of knowledge about this place," Rose commented as they climbed yet another set of decaying stairs.

"Slytherins have been using this place since the Great War as a sort of clubhouse. I come here at least once a month, though usually during the day."

"Ah."

The bedroom Scorpius had been talking about was the third door to the left off the second floor landing. Compared to the rest of the house, it was fairly clean. Dust and cobwebs did not cover every surface. The large bed looked sturdy and the sheets covering it looked new and recently laundered. Rose was about to inquire as to why the room appeared as it did, but thought better. She was pretty sure she could guess why it was taken care of.

Rose, deciding that sleeping on the bed was not a good idea, walked over to the sole window in the room and pulled a sleeping bag out of her magically enlarged pack. She was just about to uncurl it, when a grunt from Scorpius stopped her.

"Yes?" she asked, turning to face him. He was standing by the bed, observing her with a puzzled expression.

"You do realize there is a bed in here, right? You don't need to sleep on the floor."

"Yes, I noticed the one bed. I just didn't find the idea of sharing it with you appealing, so I decided to set up here."

"Most girls would kill for a chance to sleep with me," Scorpius muttered, leaping onto the bed. He folded his arms beneath his head, crossed one leg over the other and turned to watch Rose set up her sleeping area.

"Well, I am not like most girls."

"I know," Scorpius muttered quietly. The comment was obviously meant to be kept to himself, yet Rose still heard it. He hadn't spoken it with distaste, contempt, or venom like she had expected. Instead, those two words were spoken with a softer emotion, though Rose couldn't describe it more than that.

She chose to send any further thought on the subject to the back of her mind for the time being. In its place, she focused on her set up and settling in for the evening.

* * *

Three hours into the evening just as the clock struck eleven, Rose completed the first of the four books she had packed. She had finished her schoolwork earlier in the week and was now afforded the luxury of reading for pleasure. She had recently discovered a series of novels about a race of men who hunted demons and was now wholly invested in the exhilarating tale of the red haired heroine who found herself thrust into the strange world of angels, demons, and mystical creatures.

Closing the book with a satisfying clap, Rose turned her attention to the large bed and its sole occupant. Scorpius, unlike Rose, had not previously accomplished his school work and was taking advantage of this time away from his friends, and their distractions, to complete it.

Currently, he was in the process of practicing a particularly advanced animation charm. It involved inanimate objects being brought to life and charmed to dance an Irish jig. Scorpius was successful in making his inanimate object, the charms textbook, come to life. Where he was being tripped up was in charming it to dance. It would seem his textbook had a very strong will and did not feel like doing a jig.

"Try giving it some incentive," Rose offered. Scorpius looked up from his book and was rewarded with a swift kick to the hand, courtesy of the upset book.

"Ow!" He quickly cast on immobilization spell on the book and turned back to Rose. "What was that you said?"

"Try giving it some incentive, like removing all the notes and things you've written in it. Your book will be a lot more receptive to dancing if it will get something out of it." Scorpius seemed to consider her suggestion for a minute.

"If you will dance this stupid jig for me, then I will rebind you in the finest Italian leather and remove all my notes, once the year is over," he promised. He then raised his wand, removed the immobilization spell, and spoke the incantation to make the book dance. He ended with the necessary flourish. Almost immediately, the book began dancing.

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered sheepishly, casting the counter-animation charm and returning his book to an inanimate textbook.

"No problem," Rose responded. She made to return to her books but was frozen in place by a distant banging noise. She and Scorpius were supposed to be the only two in the house and she was sure he hadn't made the noise.

Shivers raced up her spine as she turned to Scorpius for an answer. From the look of fear on his face, he did not have one.

The bang sounded again, only this time it was closer.

* * *

_To be continued_

* * *

_**A/N: **__Duh! Duh! Duh! This is about as scary as the story gets so have no fear!_

_A few notes:_

_-I can't remember where the Shrieking Shack passages ends and am too lazy to look it up._

_-Rose is reading the Mortal Instruments series, for those interested._

_-If you liked the story or have suggestions on how I can improve it, write me a review! _


	3. Chapter 3: The Pair Brave the Dark

_**A/N: **__This will be the 'scariest' chapter. Don't expect too much!_

_**Disclaimer: **__J.K. Rowling is the genius behind this amazing world. I am simply momentarily occupying it._

* * *

**Once Upon All Hallows' Eve**

**Chapter Three**

**The Pair Brave the Dark**

* * *

The bang sounded again, only this time it was closer.

Rose felt every single hair on her body stand on end. One banging noise could easily be explained as her imagination playing tricks on her. Multiple, and moving, noises were more than her imagination.

"I don't know how you're doing it, but quit making those banging noise, Rose, its not funny," Scorpius spoke through gritted teeth, despite herself, Rose chuckled. The entire time she had know him, Scorpius always acted with bravado. Nothing could scare the Malfoy, except perhaps the former Headmistress McGonagall. It was a nice change to see Scorpius so rattled. It made him seem imperfect and flawed; it made him more relatable.

"I'm not making that noise, Scorpius," Rose replied. Scorpius visibly stiffened.

"It's probably nothing," Scorpius spoke, attempted to sooth his fears, "this is an old, ill-kept house. It probably makes all sorts of noises in the cold and wind."

"You're probably right; it's nothing. We should just ignore it, continue on with our evening as if nothing happened," Rose agreed, returning to her book. She could easily ignore the banding and right it off as the normal sounds of an old house; she had years of experience ignoring Carly's asinine talking. Scorpius too fell silent, and Rose thought that would be the end of the banging noise conversation.

She was sorely mistaken.

After only ten minutes of silence, with no talking or banging, Scorpius suddenly bolted upright. He rung his hands together and paced the room before stopping in front of Rose and turning to look at her.

"So that ignoring the banging thing?" Easier said than done. I propose we go out and check the house. Tyr and find the source. Once I know for sure, I'll be able to ignore it, no problem," he spoke rapidly, his fear and anxiety evident. Rose let out a sigh and put her book down.

"If it's nothing, why do we need to go looking?" Rose asked.

"Because until I investigate it, I do not know it is nothing. I need to see it, before I can believe it," Scorpius explained.

"Well, aren't you a scientist," Rose mumbled.

"A what?" Scorpius asked, quirking his head and lifting an eyebrow.

"Never mind, it's unimportant," Rose paused for a moment, thinking over leaving the security she felt in the room for the unknown in the rest of the house. "I just have one question," Rose began carefully, hoping to maybe convince Scorpius not to leave, "what happens if we don't find anything?"

Scorpius momentarily paled at her question, but then skillfully recollected himself. Rose was quite impressed by the control he had over his emotions.

"We'll deal with that if it is ever an issue, but I highly doubt that it will be. Now, I'm going out, with or without you." Scorpius spoke with such finality that Rose knew she wouldn't be able to talk him out of this. Having finished all he planned to say, Scorpius turned to leave.

"Wait!" Rose called, halting Scorpius' progress, "I'll go with you. It's always the moment people split up that one of them ends up being killed in those stupid muggle horror movies. We should stick together no matter what, watch each other's back and everything."

Scorpius thought about her words for a moment, before nodding.

"Makes sense, though I don't think will face anything like that. There isn't anything sinister in this house."

Rose stood and joined Scorpius by the door before the two entered the dark hallway.

* * *

They passed through the hallway without coming across anything that could conceivably have made the noise. Each of the rooms on the upper landing was also thoroughly checked, though most contained sparse furniture. Rose wondered to herself who had come in and removed the furniture; if the furniture was anything like that in the room she was staying, it didn't seem worth the effort.

It took nearly an hour to check the top floor of the Shrieking Shack, mostly because Scorpius insisted checking every possible thing that might have made the noise. For the most part, Rose stood in the doorways and observed his hunt, fully content not knowing what exactly had created the banging. As long as she could write it off as a normal household noise, she would be able to sleep at night. She didn't need to know the exact cause.

Scorpius seemed to be the exact opposite. After an hour, Rose's patience was wearing thin. She just wanted to go back to the room, curl up with her book, and forget about that stupid noise.

"Look, the second noise was close by, obviously from this floor. If you haven't found anything here, I doubt much more hunting will reveal anything. Can we please just go back and call it a night?"

"No, the sound obviously echoed somehow, making it sound like it was closer. It had to have come from downstairs, or possibly outside. We'll have to check everywhere to be sure." With that, Scorpius continued down the stairs and towards the main floor.

Rose groaned; Scorpius could be impossible sometimes! But she followed him anyway. The sound on its own didn't bother her, but it, combined with being alone, sent shivers up her spine. Between following Scorpius and sitting in the room alone, Scorpius was the lesser of two evils.

He was going to make it up to her; that was for sure.

* * *

Rose caught up to Scorpius in the ornately decorated living room. The walls were covered in an intricate, maroon, fleur-de-lis patterned wallpaper. The furniture was ornate, dark, and Victorian. In fact, the entire room looked as if it hadn't been redecorated since Queen Victoria's reign. Rose momentarily returned to her earlier musings about furniture and wondered why only the upstairs rooms had been emptied. Though, the living room furniture was fairly gaudy; Rose could understand it being abandoned.

Scorpius was busy looking beneath one of the four gaudy armchairs. Rose suppressed her chuckle at the sight of the high-and-mighty Scorpius laying on his stomach, his wand shinning light underneath the emerald covered-chair. It was quite a sight.

Rose took up her position of observing Scorpius from the doorway, and would have been content standing there until Scorpius finished his survey of the room. However, after only ten minutes, an unignorable sensation passed over her. As she stood in the doorway, observing Scorpius, she suddenly felt as if someone were observing her. She quickly whipped her head around, trying to ascertain the source of the sensation. However, she was unsuccessful.

Immediately, Rose moved towards Scorpius, seeking human interaction and comfort. She stopped just behind him and moved to top him on his shoulder, but he chose that moment to stand. Obviously unaware of Rose's presence behind him, Scorpius ended up colliding with Rose and causing the two of the to topple to the floor.

Rose landed on her back with enough force to expel the air from her lungs. Scorpius somehow maneuvered himself during the fall so he landed off to her side. If Rose had been able to think clearly, she would have been thankful for that. As it were, her head was swimming from the lack of oxygen. In her hazy state, she though she saw a dark, blurry shape hovering about her. With a few blinks of her eyes, the dark shape vanished. A few seconds later, Scorpius entered her vision.

"Hey. You okay? You still with me?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. Rose pushed him aside and looked to the area where she had seen the black blur, but there was nothing but ceiling. "What are you looking at?" Scorpius asked, trying to follow Rose's sight line.

"Never mind," Rose shook it off and stood up, "let's just keep looking for that noise and get back to the room as soon as we can. I just want this stupid night to be over with already." This house was starting to get to her; she wanted to be out of it as fast as possible.

She pushed past Scorpius and continued on to the rest of the house.

* * *

It was nearly two in the morning by the time the search of the house was complete. A source had not been found for the noise. Rose had started off not caring about the source of the noise she may have brought up the possibility of not finding the cause, but she hadn't really thought about what that would mean. After a thorough and exhaustive search of the entire shack, and no explanation of the sound, Rose was completely freaked out. Nothing in the shack had made the noise. That meant that whatever made the noise was no longer in the house, an impossibility because there was no way for anything to leave.

The search had ended in the kitchen, and the two were sitting at the rickety table, fear and worry etched in both their faces. Neither wanted to admit that their search was over, or what it meant. Instead, they sat in silence and prolonged the inevitable. After nearly ten minutes, the eeriness of the silence became unbearable for Rose.

"What now," she asked, breaking the tension.

"We could check outside," Scorpius suggested, glancing out the small, cracked window over the sink.

"I doubt it would be beneficial. We've already looked all over the house. I say we call it a night and head back to the room. I'm exhausted."

Scorpius hesitated for a moment, weighing the options, before he let out a deep sigh.

"Ladies first," he spoke as he rose from the table an motioned for Rose to exit first. Rose chose to focus on the act of walking and not let her thoughts wander. The old house was playing tricks on her senses, she was sure of it. She quickly walked through the house, up the stairs, and across the room.

It no longer felt safe and welcoming. Now it felt cold and eerie, like the rest of the house. She was just glad there were only a few more left before she was free of this hellhole.

She picked up her book and attempted to immerse herself in the world of the Nephilim, but her overactive brain kept bringing up the questions she was trying to avoid. Where had the sound come from? What, or who, had caused it? They kept circling in her mind on an endless wheel, not letting her focus on anything else.

The sound of someone clearing his or her throat broke her momentarily from her cyclical thoughts. A rare sight met her eyes. Standing over her, looking uncharacteristically sheepish was Scorpius.

"Mind if… mind if I join you? The bed isn't all that comfortable and it's fairly chilly out…"

"Go right ahead," Rose spoke, motioning to the empty space beside her. Truthfully, she was glad Scorpius had offered to sit near her. The room felt less creepy sitting next to another human being, even if it was the vile Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

_To be continued_

* * *

_**A/N: **__I am not, nor never claimed to be, Steven King. Sorry if it wasn't very scary._

_Review and let me know what you thoughts._


	4. Chapter 4: There is Something in the Air

_**A/N: **__This is probably my favourite chapter of this story. Not very eventful, but a fair amount of Rose and Scorpius goodness! Hope you like it!_

_**Disclaimer: **__J.K. Rowling is the genius behind this amazing world. I am simply momentarily occupying it._

* * *

**Once Upon All Hallows' Eve**

**Chapter Four**

**There is Something in the Air**

* * *

Rose Weasley sat in her makeshift bed, wide-awake despite the fact that it was well past midnight. Her decent night, as decent as a night could be when one was forced to spend an evening with your enemy, was promptly ruined by a mysterious, undetectable banging noise. Now Rose was wired as her overactive imagination attempted to explain away the noise. Her brain had failed to explain it in any rational way, and was now coming up with crazier and crazier possibilities. No matter how much she tried, her brain would not stop working.

However, if Rose was being completely honest with herself, the noise was not the only reason she couldn't sleep. It also had something to do with the blonde sitting next to her, their arms rubbing against each other.

For the past thirty minutes, Rose and Scorpius had sat beside each other in complete silence. They hadn't started off touching arms, but throughout the past half hour the two had slowly drifted together as the eeriness of the room drew them towards each other.

As the seconds passed, the silence grew more and more awkward until Rose could no longer take it. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to say something, anything to break the awkwardness.

"Any plans for after school?" Scorpius asked, beating her to it. She sighed internally; glad they would no longer be cloaked in awkward silence.

"I have some ideas. I've always wanted to be a healer, but I've heard the program is really competitive; I'm not sure if my marks will be able to compete," Rose offered, not sure why she was confiding her worries to a person she could barely stand to be near.

"Nonsense," Scorpius spoke, "you're the smartest girl in our year. Of course you'll get in; no one is as smart as you." Rose, who had looked down at her hands when she confessed her concerns, looked up at Scorpius. His pale blue eyes held such sincerity that Rose could tell he meant it, that he truly had faith in her. It was unexpected from the likes of him.

"Thanks," Rose spoke softly, dropping her gaze as she felt her cheeks flush. She had no idea why she was acting this way, why he was making her feel this way. She was being ridiculous and idiotic and it needed to stop. Now.

"How about you? What are your plans?" Rose asked, still staring at her hands. She hoped her question would draw attention away from her. She knew Scorpius enjoyed talking about himself. She hoped he would take the question as an opportunity to regale Rose with extravagant tales about all the doors that were opened for him as a result of his name and his brilliance.

However, all Rose got was silence.

She raised her head, her previous blush gone. Scorpius still sat beside her, looking down at his hands as he nervously rung them together. Scorpius was never this nervous.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked hesitantly. Scorpius took a deep breath before responding.

"I'm fine, just- the only person I've ever told what I want to do with my life was Al, and that took a lot of alcohol."

"What's so bad about it?" Rose asked, not understanding why he was so apprehensive about divulging his career plans.

"It's not a typical Malfoy job," Scorpius divulged.

"What, it doesn't foray into the dark arts?" Rose asked lightheartedly. When she had first met Scorpius, she had tiptoed around the subject of his family and their involvement in the second Wizarding War. However, she quickly learned that Scorpius was very open about his past, even making light of it at times.

"The exact opposite, actually," Scorpius stated, his tone extremely serious.

"Like… fighting against the dark arts? Like… like an auror?!" Rose's voice rose as realization dawned on her, "You want to be an auror?"

"Yes," he responded, his voice small and meek.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Rose stated, trying to infuse as much sincerity into her words as she could. Scorpius looked up at her. For once, the arrogant, confident exterior Scorpius wore was replaced with a mask of vulnerability.

"I don't know if my father would agree," he stated, his voice smaller than Rose had ever heard it.

"You may be surprised. Your father spent years trying to reconstruct the destroyed Malfoy name, tried to repair it with everything he had. He may welcome you becoming an auror, showing the world how much the Malfoys have truly changed. You'll never know unless you tell him."

Rose usually didn't like to meddle in other people's lives. She knew what it felt like to have unwanted meddling in her life, her cousins were notoriously nosy. She usually preferred to keep to herself and not worry too much about the lives of others. However, there was something about Scorpius' posture and emotional state that told her a little helpful advice would not be unwelcomed.

"I wish it were that easy," Scorpius spoke softly, "but I have no idea how he'd take it. He's never been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve. I don't know what I'd do if he rejected me. I'm not a Gryffindor; I'm not brave…"

"If your father cares for you even a little, I'm sure he'd find a way to accept your career choice," Rose offered after Scorpius had fallen silent for a moment. Instead of responding, Scorpius suddenly bolted up and began walking towards the door. Half way across the room, he stopped. After a few seconds, he turned to face her again.

"Look, can we just change the subject. I'd rather not discuss my father," Scorpius spoke, a slight edge to his voice. Suddenly, the welcoming atmosphere that had been slowly returning to the room vanished.

"Of course. How are you coming along with Maryweather's paper? I'm finding it a little hard to find the ancient use of aconite," Rose began babbling. Whenever she felt awkward, or had no idea what to say, she turned to schoolwork. It was her go to conversation starter, even if Carly kept complaining about how nerdy it made her seem.

Scorpius visibly relaxed at the change in conversation and returned to sit next to Rose, though their arms were no longer touching. Despite herself, Rose missed the contact.

"I had some difficulty with that myself," Scorpius responded, "I searched the library for hours and eventually had to ask my mom if she had a book that would help me. I could lend it to you if you wanted."

"You'd really be willing to share such a precious commodity with your enemy?" Rose joked, trying to break the heavy atmosphere.

"I said the book would help me. I said nothing about it helping you," he responded coyly. The warm atmosphere returned once again and, for a moment, Rose forgot about the mysterious noise.

* * *

Hours past as the two previous enemies discussed various topics from schoolwork, school drama, and plans for the Christmas holiday. It was a wholly pleasant conversation, something that had never occurred between the two. They had either been hostile to each other, or simply ignore the other. Pleasant conversations were not even close to a commonality to them.

She was busy reveling in this phenomenon, analyzing what it could mean for her once frosty relationship with Scorpius, when her hair stood on end and her heart rate increased. Off in the distance, a loud thud sounded.

Without even thinking, Rose latched onto the closet thing, Scorpius' arm, for comfort. It didn't mean anything except that when she latched onto Scorpius' arm and buried her head in his chest. And he was obviously wanted the same when he wound his arm around her back and pulled her close to him. The fact that they sat in each other's arms for a good minute meant nothing; they were just waiting to see if there would be a second, mysterious thudding.

When nothing came, they slowly separated. Even though it meant nothing, Rose still felt her cheeks flushing. She turned away from Scorpius to hide her rapidly reddening face.

"You okay?" Scorpius asked after several minutes of silence passed between the two. His voice was filled with such genuine concern that Rose felt compelled to see his expression, see if the concern was showing on his face.

When she looked into his eyes, a strange, electric feeling overcame her, and she forgot what she was going to say. For a moment, as Rose gazed into his deep, stormy eyes, the world melted away. It was just the two of them; no one and nothing else existed or mattered. After a minute, Rose regained her senses and shook her head to clear her strange thoughts.

"I'm fine. This house and Al's stupid story are getting to me. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Yeah," Scorpius responded, though his tone sounded dejected, "We should probably get some sleep." He then stood and walked to the large bed. Rose, despite herself, missed him instantly.

She pushed the thought from her mind and began preparing her sleeping bag for the night. From the rustling noises coming from the other side of the room, Rose assumed Scorpius was doing the same. She climbed into bed, pulled the sleeping bag up to her chin and tried to fall asleep. However, her mind was racing, both with thoughts of the creepy, mysterious sound and the past few hours spend in Scorpius' company. The sound made her heart beat fast, but thinking about some of the things that occurred between her and Scorpius caused her heart to race even faster. Previously, all thoughts about Scorpius resulted in feelings of rage, disgust, or contempt. Now, as Rose thought over the conversation they'd had about careers, the moments after the third noise, and the strange feeling she'd felt, a smile graced her face.

Rose wasn't sure what worried her more. The fact that there was an unexplainable thumping noise within the house, or that she was smiling at the thought of Scorpius.

"I had a decent time tonight," Scorpius spoke through the darkness, "you know, except for the whole noise thing."

"I did too, surprisingly," Rose responded, another smile spreading across her face.

* * *

_To be continued_

* * *

_**A/N: **__Hope you've liked this story so far. Tomorrow being Halloween means that this tale has only one more chapter to go! If you liked this story, or have any helpful suggestions, let me know with a review._


	5. Chapter 5: A New Dawn, A New Day

_**A/N: **__Happy Halloween, everybody! Sadly, with this chapter, this short little tale comes to an end. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sorry it wasn't super scary._

_**Disclaimer: **__J.K. Rowling is the genius behind this amazing world. I am simply momentarily occupying it._

* * *

**Once Upon All Hallows' Eve**

**Chapter Five**

**A New Dawn, A New Day**

* * *

"I had a decent time tonight. You know, expect for the whole noise thing," Scorpius spoke through the darkness.

"I did too, surprisingly," Rose responded.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if we'd been friends instead of competitors? If tonight is any indication it isn't that much of a stretch. We obviously can get along if we absolutely need to," Scorpius spoke after several minutes of silence. Rose took a minute to think it over before responding.

"It would be nice to work together instead of against each other. We might be able to get even higher marks, if that is even possible. And I guess you aren't all that bad; you do have your rare moments of agreeability," Rose conceded.

"What stopped us from becoming friends?" Scorpius inquired after several moments of silence. Rose had thought about that question a fair amount. Albus was always wondering why his favourite cousin and his best friend could not get along, no matter what he did. For Rose, it went back to that first train ride, and Scorpius' hostile and off-putting behavior.

"I didn't think you liked me very much," Rose admitted. She rolled over onto her side and observed the blonde in the large bed. He lay atop his covers, his arms folded behind his head. He looked like the picture of cool and calm. However, at her comment, he turned to look at her, confusion etched across his face.

"I thought you didn't want to be friends with me!" he responded, the surprise he felt at her words evident in his tone. Rose was surprised. She'd never thought that her actions towards him in those early years were hostile or would have portrayed that she didn't want to be his friend. She was only ever responding to his actions.

"Why would you say that?" she asked, after trying to find something that could lead him to think she was the reason they weren't friends.

"Well, you were never exactly friendly," he admitted sheepishly, obviously trying not to offend her too much with her words.

"You were the one who wasn't friendly, Scorpius. I was just reacting to you. You were the one who tripped me on the train that very first ride."

"I've told you that was an accident, several times," he answered, the annoyance that Rose couldn't seem to grasp that fact clear in his voice.

"And I may have been able to believe that if you hadn't then followed it up by being rude to me."

"How was I rude?"

"You insulted my favourite book and then just stared at me, obviously trying to get some sort of a rise out of me. If you hadn't acted so hostile on that first train ride, I think we could have been at least amicable with each other, if not friends."

Rose was expecting Scorpius to rebuff the claims, or say that Rose was exaggerating his actions. He was arguing that it was her fault they weren't friends so it would be a logical argument. Instead, he fell silent. If Rose wasn't watching him, she might have assumed that he had fallen asleep.

Rose was just about to ask if he was okay, when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," he started, his voice was soft, "I wasn't trying to be hostile. I didn't mean to insult your favourite book. And I was only staring at you because I couldn't find something to say to you that wouldn't make me sound like a complete idiot."

Rose hadn't been expecting that from him. She had assumed that he would turn it around on her, blame her for his staring or something. She wasn't sure how to respond.

"Oh," she spoke to fill the void.

"Yeah, well, it was six years ago. Nothing we can do about it now," Scorpius spoke, before he rolled over onto his side. Rose wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or not, but she assumed that the conversation had ended.

She rolled back onto her back and tried to fall asleep but was unable to because her mind was too busy analyzing what had just happened.

Scorpius wasn't trying to get a rise out of her? He was just an extremely awkward 11-year-old trying to find something to say to a potential new friend. It was her fault they'd never been friends. She'd just assumed he was an ass and that made him an ass.

Rose felt terrible.

If she'd been less judgmental, more open to him, they could have been great friends. She'd ruined a possible friendship all because her father had warned her away from him and she hadn't given him a second chance.

She was a terrible person.

Rose rolled over, facing the window, in an attempt to get some sleep. She knew it wasn't going to be easy though. She felt too rotten to get any shuteye. As she gazed out across the lawn through the window, she saw a dark figure cross the grass. However, before she could fully comprehend it, her overtiredness overcame her guilt and she fell asleep.

* * *

Rose slept fitfully and woke up several times throughout the night. By the time the sun rose the next morning, she was almost more exhausted than when she fell asleep. She would have continued to lay in her makeshift bed and tried to get some semblance of sleep if she hadn't been startled by a dark shape looming over her.

She jumped out of her bed and let out a high-pitched scream. In the process, she collided with the shape and gave herself a terrible headache.

"Ow Rose, watch where you're flailing. You could seriously hurt someone like that." It took Rose a moment to figure out that the voice that spoke belonged to the dark shape and that it was her cousin Al's voice.

"Al, what are you doing here?" she asked, holding her head where it was throbbing.

"Came to see if you two had survived," he spoke, falling back onto the large bed where Scorpius was still sleeping. As Al landed on his legs, the blonde jolted awake, looked around for the cause of his sudden awakening, and then punched his best friend in the arm.

"Thanks for the concern," Rose responded, stretching out her aching muscles. Spending a night on the floor had started out as a good idea when it meant not spending the night in a bed with Scorpius, but it turned out to be a bad idea in the long run.

"I always worry about my precious little cousin Rosie; especially since you're so naïve and innocent. The world is a scary place, Rosie. I need to make sure it doesn't destroy you." Al spoke in a very joking manner, but Rose knew that beneath his jovial façade, he really meant what he was saying. Albus was always saying that Rose didn't truly see the world, didn't see the dark gritty underbelly to everything. And that was the way Al wanted to keep her, in his words pure.

"I can take care of myself, Al. I'm not a baby, and I'm only three months younger than you. I'm not your 'precious little cousin'." She then threw off her sleeping bag cover and began packing up.

She was glad that her strange evening was finally over. She'd been scared, annoyed, surprised, confused, and had some of her longest held beliefs flipped upside down. She hadn't been looking forward to it initially. She'd gone into it thinking Scorpius was vile, repulsive and absolutely hated her guts. Now she wasn't sure what she thought with regards to Scorpius.

"So, what did you two get up to tonight?" Al asked, his eyebrows quirking so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. Albus was obviously digging for information. Sometimes it was like he knew when something had happened, like he could sense it.

"We heard a creepy, unexplainable noise, searched for it, talked for a bit, then fell asleep. Nothing all that big," Scorpius responded, glazing over the three major points of the evening like it was not a big deal. Rose figure it was so that Al could pick what he wanted to latch onto, mostly the unexplainable noise, and leave the more personal aspects of the evening private. However, that was not Al; he always seemed to know what people didn't really want to talk about.

"So, what did you too talk about? You both look fairly exhausted, so it must have been some pretty juicy topics." Al's eyebrows rose even further. Rose was really quite surprised how high they could go.

"Careers, Maryweather's paper, and the first train ride," Rose responded, mirroring Scorpius' earlier nonchalance. She hoped that Al wouldn't pry too much more. The topics really were boring and straightforward, especially when Rose left out the more alluring aspects of their conversations.

"Oh yeah?" Al asked. Rose knew she should have known better than to expect Al not to pry; he always wanted to know everything about other people. "What exactly did you talk about?"

Rose looked at Scorpius, asking for a way out. Albus may have been her cousin, but over the past six years, Scorpius had spent more time with her cousin. She figured he would know better how to stop Al before he uncovered too much.

Thankfully, Scorpius knew exactly how to do that.

"You know what Al, it's early and I haven't had my morning coffee yet. How about we discuss this later, after coffee and breakfast? I'll be much more willing to divulge all my dirty little secrets then." With a flick of his wand, Scorpius packed up all of his and her belongings. He then picked up his pack and headed towards the door.

Rose was truly amazed.

As she grabbed her bag and followed the two good friends out of the Shrieking Shack, she made a resolution to herself. From here on out, she'd give Scorpius the benefit of the doubt; she'd stop seeing him as the hostile, competitive jerk she had known, and start thinking of him as the Scorpius who had relieved himself in the darkness of the Shrieking Shack.

* * *

_The end_

* * *

_**A/N: **__There you have it! Hope you enjoyed reading it! I wrote this chapter instead of studying for a midterm so a review would really make the sacrifice worth it!_

_Happy Halloween!_


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